Classical Music

Alexei Kornienko writes: "At the center of our present recording lies the "romantic" perception and since strictly speaking, only Brahms can be counted to the romantic period, it is much rather the interpretation of very personal and intimate pieces, Bach and Beethoven included. In my personal opinion there is no so-called authenticity in interpretation, which explains the maybe not so traditional but rather romantic approach to Bach and Beethoven. From an early age on, I developed a special relationship to Brahms, played and performed many of his works, and in this context it was very interesting for me to create my own cycle of his Intermezzi. Although they are from different times from Brahms's life and thus from different emotional phases, it feels to me that they harmonize ideally with each other, as well as in the overall program. They form the core of the idea for this album. Specifically, the Partita No.6 by Bach has a very personal touch - even the Fuga does not sound as strict as one is used to it otherwise, but rather leads to the romantic empathy. Stylistically, the work differs from the romantic, but in spirit it is very similar... Each program has a heart and this is basically a concert program and not a classic album production. So I would like to encourage you, my dear listeners, to actively respond to the programmatic content and especially to the soul of the music."

The Belgian Robert Groslot had made a name for himself as an outstanding pianist and excellent conductor before distinguishing himself more and more as a composer. In recent years, he has created an extensive oeuvre with playful ease, characterized by supreme mastery and originality and vacillating with mercury-like flexibility. Known as an exceptional master of effective orchestration, he proves that he does not need any outward means at all to captivate his audience, especially when it comes to the medium of the string quartet, and shows with his concentration on what is essential and the dynamics of deeply felt formal poetry that he worthily continues the long line of the immortal tradition of Western music as a truly cosmopolitan, great composer.

In 1937, a Viennese antiquarian sells a comprehensive lute tablature, which then ends up in Lviv in today's Ukraine. For decades, the tablature is out of reach and subject to wild speculation. Today, it once again reveals European Renaissance masterpieces, presented here on this album. Bernhard Hofst�tter's lute playing has been described as "adeptly combining technical ease with a masterful sense of phrasing" (Lute Society of America) and demonstrating "a refined rhythmic sensibility and understanding" (International Record Review). His recordings of the music of the 18th century lute virtuoso Silvius Leopold Weiss have been hailed as containing "some of the most sympathetic and beautiful Weiss-playing yet committed to disc" (Gramophone). To date, Hofst�tter has published four solo albums which shine an imaginative and colorful light on the lesser known musical landscapes of the 17th and 18th centuries. His recordings have been met with international critical acclaim.

Notturno is a game: an interplay of light and shade in a quasi nocturnal setting that is occasionally illuminated by dazzling daylight. Matthias Veit unfurls a "panorama of correspondence", shifting between tense tranquility and colorful dramatics. Iridescent character pieces inhabited by ghostly figures, un-known and well-loved gems from the piano repertoire span a net that stretches from the Romantic era to the modern day. Works from Crumb's "Makrokosmos" initiate a musical discourse of pro and contra between the great piano composers, which breathes a single deep musical breath right from the start - ending with an unexpected culmination.

Great works always attract artists of many different instruments, and for good reason - it is only then that they are illuminated in their full scope. New sounds and colors enrich the original material. The unusual combination of clarinet/basset horn and harp reveals a powerful emotionality to the listener and, particularly in Brahms’s Intermezzi, highlights complex chamber music qualities already concealed within the piano version. Transcriptions, to which this release is exclusively devoted, have never been uncommon. Since the original repertoire from this period for harp, both as a solo instrument and in chamber music works, is relatively limited, the literature for piano and for harpsichord holds a special appeal for harpists. In addition, it was a widespread practice with duo pieces at that time to print the piano part in an alternative version for harp. Due to technical limitations, many composers found no use for the harp. This changed, however, at the beginning of the nineteenth century when the piano and harp manufacturer Sébastien Érard invented the double-action mechanism, which made it possible to play in any key - just in time to avoid missing out on the increasingly chromatic music of the Romantic period. But the harp was not the only instrument that enjoyed its heyday during Romanticism; it was during this era that the clarinet, too, flourished for the first time. Likewise, in the early nineteenth century, Iwan Müller designed the "Clarinette Omnitonique," an instrument with thirteen keys; thanks to this innovation, the clarinet was now also able to play in every tonality. The clarinet is considered to be the wind instrument that comes closest to the human voice. Hector Berlioz praises it for its "beautiful instrumental soprano" and "a middle register that is favorable to the expression of the most poetic feelings and ideas." (Grand traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration modernes).

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was renowned for his modern zeitgeist, which enabled him to embrace the evolving musical tastes of his time and the preferences of his audience. His compositional output encompasses influences and musical fashions from many European counties, melting them into the so-called mixed style, the go�t r�uni. This mix of styles is an especially prominent feature in his XII Fantasie per il Flauto senza Basso (c. 1733, Hamburg). These Fantasias for an unaccompanied flute juxtapose German counterpoint with Italian virtuosity, French and English dance movements with Polish folk infused dances. Perhaps this is what Telemann's choice of title, 'Fantasie', refers to: a fanciful, imaginative, daring, and fantastic line-up of musical languages. This invites the idea of exploring the continuing relevance of these ingenious pieces by adding the 21st century to the mosaic of compositional styles. On the occasion of Telemann's 250th anniversary of death in 2017 the City Music Foundation and Tabea Debus have commissioned twelve contemporary pieces based on each of the Fantasias. All of these freshly-penned pieces are reflections on thematic, harmonic or rhythmic material taken from the Fantasias, a (re-) interpretation of musical ideas, a reply to Telemann's musical thoughts. This recording aims not only at documenting the ever expanding repertoire for solo recorder, but also at showcasing so-far "unheard of" ways of listening to seemingly 'old" music. It strives to reveal the continuous relevance of Telemann's music in general and his twelve Fantasias for solo flute in particular.

Why don't you do something for violin and piano? Despite all the years lying in between, one can sense the sonata for violin and piano op. 121 by Robert Schumann and the sonata for viola and piano op. 120-1 by Johannes Brahms as an intimate exchange between their composers: a dialogue of two partners as equals. In the present recording, Burkhard Maiss and Ji-Yeoun You have made this musically comprehensible. The Duo MAISS YOU was founded by Burkhard Maiss and Ji-Yeoun You. The duo formation is dedicated to the music for violin and piano and - to the same degree - to the sister genre for viola and piano. In order to explore exciting combinations of compositions even within a single program, the duo utilizes both the violin and the viola in their concerts - a practice only rarely present in nowaday's concert life.

"Joining the Trios of Johannes Brahms and Frank Bridge on one album may appear on first glance as an odd choice. The two composers offer few points of overlap, whether one chooses to observe them from a historical biographical perspective or in a more direct comparison of their musical styles and characters. Yet this choice is anything but random. All too often, recordings of music by secondary composers" are preserved in a somewhat academic/systematic manner: for example, as complete recordings of one's oeuvre or in conjunction with compositions of that composer's countrymen. The established masterworks on the other hand are presented in highly diverse arrangements and combinations, thus underlying the inherent interest of a particular interpretation of that work. As the title of this album suggests, our intention is to position Bridge's second piano trio among the established masterpieces of the genre and to propel the composition unto the consciousness of music Lovers and performers alike. For that reason, we chose to link the Bridge trio with Brahms' op. 8-one of the most beloved and cherished compositions in the piano trio genre and one which we hold very dear to our hearts." (Namirovsky-Lark-Pae Trio)

The tr!jo sonatas present a fresh and unique perspective on music from the 18th century. Inspired by the French baroque "mis en concert" technique, pieces originally scored for solo harpsichord are orchestrated for a larger chamber music setting. According to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach this approach can also be applied to some of his father's compositions: "Bach's clavier fugues can be set out for as many instruments as they have voices; no voice fails to receive it's proper share, and everyone is carried through properly." As tr!jo, Tabea Debus, Lea Rahel Bader and Johannes Lang discover and arrange new repertoire to fit their flexible instrumentation (recorder, viola da gamba, and harpsichord and chamber organ), experimenting with a variety of musical styles. Founded in 2012, tr!jo won the audience award and second prize at the 2nd Berlin Bach Competition in 2015.

For this album, Cellist Friedemann Doling selected four very interesting 20th century compositions from his solo program, which he performs regularly and which meet with an especially positive response from audiences. The works by Toch, Fortner, Adler and Klebe - rarely performed and in part recorded here for the first time - find with this album the even greater audience they deserve.

Julian Riem is a pianist noted for his elegance, spirited playing, and striking virtuosity. Numerous chamber music recordings attest to his versatility. Now the Echo award-winner is presenting his first solo album, which features genuine rarities: the etudes of Claude Debussy and Karol Szymanowski represent the pianistic high points in the careers of two geniuses, who experiment here with the technical possibilities of the instrument and interpreter alike. Both composers wrote these cycles during the First World War, finding a highly personal form of expression in the process. Here the legacy of Chopin merges with the dawn of modernism. With his depth, evocative playing, and brilliant tonal nuances, Riem leads us on a true journey of discovery.

Hints of music from the Far East, namely the Japanese pentatonic (sometimes modified), appear in many works of Debussy such as Chansons de Bilitis and Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastien as well as in several of the Preludes for piano. The answer to these Preludes on behalf of Japanese composers is a form of musical Haiku or rather Waka (respondent poem). It presents the chosen Prelude in a new perspective and illustrates for the listener Debussy‘s relationship to Japanese culture. In return, Debussy‘s huge influence on Japanese composers becomes perceptible as a source of inspiration for them. As a homage to Claude Debussy the six Japanese composers Takashi Fujii, Satoshi Minami, Asako Miyaki, Kumiko Omura, Takayuki Rai und Yasuko Yamaguchi each wrote a piece for clarinet and harp that is related to one of the preludes by Debussy. These preludes are originally composed for piano solo and were transcribed for clarinet and harp by Duo Imaginiare.

On her previous album “Bach & Contemporary Music“, that was released in 2014, Alexandra Sostmann demonstrated Bach‘s influence on modern composers. In her new recording, she traces the relationship between Chopin and Bach – with one particular aspect in mind. “All the works I have recorded are determined by dance forms, but stylized dances, of course, that were never intended as an invitation to dance, “says Sostmann. She has chosen ten Mazurkas by Chopin and placed them between two of Bach‘s French Suites, No. 3 in B minor BWV 814 and No. 5 in G major BWV 816. Alexandra Sostmann ranks among the select circle of musicians whose repertoire represents such an extraordinarily broad stylistic spectrum that ranges from Baroque to Modern. Effortlessly, fluently, she explores the intricately interwoven paths of musical history- in concert or on her albums. Her intelligent, sensitive interpretations of works from Bach to Xiaoyong Chen delight critics and the public alike.

This new recording is about polyphonic references between the great counterpoint artists Byrd; Gibbons; Bach and the contemporary composers John Tavener; Oliver Knussen; John Adams; Markus Horn and Xiaoyong Chen. The two Bach Ricercari from the Musical Offering form the bracket. The exciting connection of the individual; different works to each other is created by the polyphonic structures; the modal church keys or by religious; spiritual references. 429 years lie between the work of Byrd and the work of Xiaoyong Chen composed for the LP. With Bach; Byrd; Gibbons and Contemporary Music; the listener can expect a recording that is wonderfully audible; in a positive sense unexhausting. You have to get involved with the depth; the space and sometimes the silence; but it is worth it; because the music changes your own self and focuses attention on you. "I'm interested in the connections between different epochs and their polyphonic structures. So obviously there was no way that I could ignore Johann Sebastian Bach. However; I considered what to combine with his Ricercares a 3 and a 6 from The Musical Offering. First I thought of William Byrd; as I knew that polyphony and contrapuntal style were important to him; despite the fact that he was almost 150 years older than Bach. I began with vocal polyphony and arrived at Orlando Gibbons and virginal music; which I wanted to combine with contemporary music. And then the search began..." (Alexandra Sostmann)